3 comments:

Dang! I had completely forgotten there was an Analytical Engine in the Emberverse books. Was this primitive kind of computer powered using water wheels? The Emberversers certainly could not use steam power or electricity, as we see in the Angrezi Raj.

Another example that came most clearly to mind was William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE, showing us their speculations on the ENORMOUS consequences from Charles Babbage successfully inventing a computer in 1824.